KC Star: Nathan weighs in on Net Neutrality

PlanetReuse is a web-focused company, using the internet to connect buyers and sellers of reclaimed building materials and bridging the digital divide to make reuse as easy as possible. As net neutrality becomes an issue, the speed at which users can connect to websites may evolve into a larger discussion.

Our own Nathan Benjamin was interviewed recently by the KC Star about the importance of internet to his business. Check out Nathan's thoughts on the subject below, or read the entire piece here.

A Thankful Heart

In the days before Thanksgiving, Silicon Prairie News asked us, along with entreprenerus from across the midwest, what we were thankful for. This annual tradition is a great opportunity to pause and count our blessings, and we were delighted to contribute. Read below for a few of the many reasons Nathan is grateful this Thanksgiving season.  

Nathan Benjamin, Planet ReUse My list of reasons to be thankful is large and growing. I'm grateful to go to work every day at a company whose mission I truly believe in, surrounded by a community that encourages and fosters the entrepreneurial spirit. I have incredibly encouraging friends and family and I am lucky enough to be married to a woman who is the most patient, smart, amazing person in the world. And most importantly, I am so thankful for the delivery of one tiny, perfect baby boy a month ago.

Check out the entire article here.

Top 5 reasons to attend GreenBuild 2013

That’s right, it’s officially time for GreenBuild! Need a little convincing of how great the conference is? We've rounded up 5 reasons not to miss this event. 

FIVE: All of your (environmentally friendly) friends will be there. 

November 20-22 will find Philadelphia, PA teeming with passionate people concerned with the future of sustainable building. As one of our favorite events of the year,  it's a chance to gather like-minded designers, builders, suppliers and other eco enthusiasts. The largest conference of its kind, GreenBuild aims to act as a catalyst for sustainable innovation with industry showcases, networking events and educational speakers.  

FOUR: The opportunity to attend the interactive session led by Anne Nicklin, Elise Zelechowski, Michael Ross and David Walsh.

The title of the program is "The Reincarnation of Building Materials" and the discussion will center on providing opportunities to reuse materials in creative and conscientious new ways. If you're at GreenBuild, do yourself a favor catch this session on November 21st at 3:30 in room 122, 100 level. You won't be disappointed.

And if you have a quick 60 seconds to spare, let BMRA know what will be on your mind at GreenBuild.  

THREE: See how natural disasters have created a unique opportunity for building material reuse.

Our own Nathan Benjamin, along with Jeremy Knoll of BNIM and Ryan Evans of Henderson Engineers will lead a panel centered on the importance of rescuing, salvaging and repurposing materials in the face of natural disaster. You'll be amazed by the stories of triumph over tragedy and the innovative ways people have found to sustainably rebuild after the storm. Come check it out on November 21st at 8 a.m. in room 118A, 100 level. 

TWO: Hillary Clinton is giving the keynote address.

Hear what is sure to be an interesting, inspiring and educational speech by the former First Lady and Secretary of State.

ONE: Bon Jovi will be there. Enough said.

We're Getting in the Ring!

We're excited to announce that we've made it to the semi-finals of the Get in the Ring competition!

The competition is put on by the Erasmus Centre, an organization in the Netherlands that fosters innovation, entrepreneurship and the startup successes.

We are currently in the running for the Get In The Ring: The American Startup Clash, pitting PlanetReuse Marketplace against 8 other companies throughout North America. If chosen, we'll move on to the finals in Rotterdam, where we'll vie for more than $1 million in funding. The  Kauffman Foundation is hosting the event as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week and should be a fantastic event.

We're so excited to be competing for such a prestigious prize. We wish the other startups from North America luck, especially another Kansas City startup, EyeVerify. They're doing really amazing things with retina-based technology and they're all around awesome people.

Check out the our video for The American Startup Clash.

A Day in the Life

For the third task of the Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year competition, we were asked to give viewers a sense of what day-to-day life at PlanetReuse is like. Turns out, life is sometimes hectic, stressful, silly, worthwhile and a whole bunch of other adjectives. We tried to capture everything that an entrepreneur (and all of us really) experience everyday: the mundane activities, the little wins, the frustrations, the hard work.  

To get us up close and personal with our CEO, we slapped a GoPro camera on Nathan (thanks to our ThinkBig Incubator floormates CandyCam for lending it to us) to see what really goes on during his 9 to 5 (more like 6 to 6) day. We're excited to see the video once it's finished. 

Camera Ready

Workin' It 

Wednesday morning is the next round of eliminations. They're halving the competition, letting go of 10 of the remaining 20 startups. We're really hoping to continue on in the program, repping our ridiculously fantastic city and startup community on a national platform.  

While we were filming, the amazing folks from KCTV 5 stopped by and did a really nice piece on our organization and the competition. Check it out below. 

KCTV5

Want to show us some love? Head here and click VOTE. That's it! You've officially supported a KC-based, environmentally driven startup. A huge thank you to everyone that has been a part of the outstanding outpouring of support from our friends and family. We appreciate it more than you know. 

Posted by: Sarah Rendo

The Environmental Excellence Award

Recently, we were (pleasantly) surprised to hear we had won the National Demolition Association's Environmental Excellence Award.  The award, which honors organizations that propel the field toward a more sustainably-minded future, was a great honor for us at PlanetReuse.

Part of the construction and demolition industry for more than five years, we've worked hard to make it as easy as possible for building materials to be reused and recycled. Being recognized for these efforts wasn't just a kind acknowledgement (which it was), but also a signal that we are headed in the right direction. A direction that will lead to more materials being reused, less needless landfill waste and buildings created with the environment in mind. We're excited to be a part of that path, illuminating the way to a brighter future and better environment.

Four other teams were recognized with the Award as well.  The work they have undertaken is extremely inspiring and encouraging. Check out the sites below for a deeper look at their winning projects.  

Project: Mohave Generating Station, Laughlin, NV

NDA Member: NCM Demolition & Remediation, Brea, CA

Project:  Revitalizing the City of Saginaw, MI

NDA Member: Bierlein Companies, Inc., Midland, MI

Project:  Plymouth Cordage Mill #2 Demolition and Recycling, Plymouth, MA

NDA Member:  Costello Dismantling Co., West Wareham, MA

Project:  Gaspesia Pulp and Paper Mill, Chandler, QC, Canada

NDA Member: EDS, Montreal, QC, Canada

Know a company that deserves to win next year's Environmental Excellence Award? Nominate them today and recognize an organization for their important environmental efforts.

Read some of the fantastic coverage of the award here, here and here. 

Posted by: Sarah Rendo

Becoming Sustainable and Scalable, with Vivek Wadhwa

Last week we had the great pleasure of sitting down (digitally) with our Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year mentor, the outstanding Mr. Vivek Wadhwa. Mr. Wadhwa, who has done everything from create software to spin off companies to teach executive-level leadership courses, is an inspiration to anyone involved with a startup, especially in the tech field.   

After a brief introduction, we got down to business. Mr. Wadhwa asked us thoughtful, probing questions. He challenged us to expand our thinking on vertical markets, discussed the logistics of the reuse industry and pressed us on our ideas for scalability.  

Check out the video below for the entire discussion, and follow the competition on our Wall Street Journal company page. The conversation was very insightful and we learned a lot from the lively exchange. We look forward to continue working with Mr. Wadhwa, a man whose ethical philosophies and viewpoint on work/life balance serves as a role model to entrepreneurs everywhere.  

The End of PlanetReuse?

Our first task for the Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year competition threw us off a bit: come up with three new names, logos and taglines for our company. Wait a minute, we thought, didn't we spend weeks at the whiteboard, discussing, drawing and deliberating? Why would we start over from scratch? 

But if the Wall Street Journal tells you to do something, you do it.   

RaeAnn, Ryan and I all pitched ideas. We considered them in depth, Nathan and Jarrod pulling out ideas like meatballs out of spaghetti. We compiled the best parts of each idea like a creative club sandwhich (sorry for all the food metaphors, it’s nearly lunch). By the end of the session, we had brand new insights into branding, customer support and market positioning. While we didn’t ultimately decide to change our name or logo, we did gain new perspectives, seeing ourselves, our mission and our impact in a whole new light.

I guess the Wall Street Journal knows what it's doing. 

Posted by: Sarah 

KCTV profiles PlanetReuse's Journey to become Startup of the Year

KCTV5 goes inside PlanetReuse Marketplace with a look into our push to become Wall Street Journal’s Startup of the Year.  The article details our mission to make reuse as easy as buying new, and our goal of reducing building material waste from 40% to 30% by 2020.  

We were honored to be featured on the website as well as 

http://kpho.membercenter.worldnow.com/story/22796066/new-kansas-city-company-up-for-wall-street-journal-award

Mentors: Role Models for a Sustainable Business

For us, perhaps the most exciting part of competing for The Wall Street Journal’s Startup of the Year is being paired with innovative, successful mentors. We look forward to conversations with entrepreneurs who have shown tremendous courage and intelligence in their approach to creating sustainable businesses. Not just the ones that make money, but a lasting impact in their community and the environment. 

Business can be a force for good,” Richard Branson recently said, and it’s a mantra we strive to put into practice every day.

We share Branson’s B Team mission, which encourages companies to take a triple bottom line approach to business, one where people, profits and the planet are all taken into account. And we aim to emulate Case’s disruptive business model, now put into practice through the Case Foundation, which expands civic engagement through technology.

This week it was announced which mentors we would be paired with and we couldn't be more pleased.  Who are they? 

(drum roll please)

Vivek Wadhwa has been creating innovative solutions to complex problems for decades. Before becoming Vice President of Academics and Innovation at Singularity University, he led the development of a tool focused on developing client-server model software for Credit Suisse First Boston, which was spun off into Seer Technologies. 

A teacher, author, speaker and one of Time magazine's 2013 Top 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech, we are in awe of his creativity, impressed with his commitment to ethics and inspired by his entrepreneurial spirit.  We're excited to pick his brain about everything from corporate leadership to creating a harmonious work-life balance.  

Carly Fiorina, (named the most powerful woman in business (for SIX consecutive years) will bring a unique view on what it takes to succeed in the tech world. As Chairman of Good360, she takes a common sense approach to charity, funneling surplus merchandize to nonprofit organizations, with an outstanding 99% of funds going directly to programs. We look forward to discussing management, leadership, marketing and a host of other topics. 

Alexander Osterwalder, whose innovative business model programs have been used throughout the world, is an expert in helping companies find their core value, ensuring segments, activities and resources are aligned. We can’t wait to brainstorm with him, putting our thought tornados into commonsense, well-laid plans for the future. 

In a few short weeks we will have our first (digital) meeting with these business experts. To say we're looking forward to collaborating with these remarkable entrepreneurs is an understatement. But we'll say it anyway. We can't wait!  

Posted by: Sarah